


You Can Be You With Me

by ChibiYoda



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill, Science Bros, This Is My Ship and It Has Wrecked Me, pre-Science Boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-03-27 10:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13879284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiYoda/pseuds/ChibiYoda
Summary: For the dialog prompt "Are you finishing that, or..."





	You Can Be You With Me

Bruce had told him many stories. Not at first, of course. First Tony had to convince Bruce to stay. After that initial hurdle was cleared, Tony championed on like an Olympian, pulling Bruce over one hurdle after another.

Getting Bruce to accept free reign of the beautiful lab that Tony had constructed (with Bruce in mind) during the rebuild only required a minimal amout of cajoling. But Tony had only shot himself in the foot with that accomplishment. Bruce became so wrapped up in his work that he never wanted to leave the comfort of that area. He accepted and welcomed Tony's presence there, but trying to get Bruce to make himself at home in the rest of the tower was a daunting task.

Once Tony managed to get Bruce to leave his cocoon once in a while, it was on to socializing with his teammates. Another tall order. When it was just the two of them, Tony was witness to all of Bruce's charms. Not only was Bruce brilliant, he was also a sassy-snark when he wanted to be. Tony loved Bruce's sense of humor, and he wanted the others to enjoy this side of his friend, too. 

So Tony bribed Bruce with foods that he liked and movies that he'd expressed an interest in. These tactics had worked to get Bruce to relocate. Sadly, once there, it took an act of God to get Bruce to engage in anything more than the most succinct of small-talk. For a long while, Bruce was more comfortable observing everyone. The more he accepted that these people were not a threat to him, the more he let some of his wit out to play. Tony watched as he gained more confidence each time others reacted to Bruce's quips with pleasure equal to what Bruce had experienced when it was just him and Tony.

Not long after Bruce began to feel more at home in his new home, and more at ease with his new friends, Tony noticed Bruce starting to open up to him. Only when they were alone, naturally. Bruce began to tell Tony little bits about his past, his time on the run, and the darker areas of Bruce's existence.

It occurred to Tony that all this time, Bruce may have been trying himself out on Tony, so to speak. Gauging what others might accept about him by running it past Tony first. If that truly was the case, Tony didn't know whether he should be sad or mad. If only Bruce knew what an absolute pleasure he was to be around. With a huge mental sigh, Tony vowed to never give up until Bruce was content with being Bruce.

It was at a very casual dinner with a few teammates, when Tony got a sign that maybe Bruce was starting to let his guard down. Just a little.

The food was simple. Just subs and fries and some chicken wings thrown in for good measure. Since Tony was the competitive type, especially around Steve, he had ordered himself a whole sub, because there was no way he was just gonna get a half when Steve was getting the big one.

Alas, Tony only made it about two-thirds of the way through the sandwich before he was forced to just move it around his plate from time to time, to make it look like he was still working on it. What he didn't count on was ever-observant Bruce. Of course he would notice that Tony hadn't actually taken a bite in at least twenty minutes.

That's when Bruce leaned over and half-whispered to Tony, "Are you finishing that, or...?"

Tony was perhaps more overjoyed than he should have been at the inquiry, but he saw this as a big step for Bruce. See, Bruce had told him some stories about how when he was in exile he often had no money, and had to trade services for a meal. With his elevated metabolism, Bruce had a sizable appetite. The people he ate with didn't have much, but were as generous to Bruce as they could be. He accepted their hospitality without condition. He could not, in good conscience, indulge in more food than was absolutely necessary to get by with.

To see Bruce take advantage of the abundance, and express a desire to eat more than the bare minimum, made Tony's 'Proud Mom' side do an internal cartwheel. "Nah, I'm done. Have at it. You need it more than I do." He slid his plate to Bruce, and watched as the reminder of his sandwich slowly disappeared. 

 

From then on, Tony always ordered the whole sub. But not because of Steve.


End file.
